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Thread: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,890

    Default Major flooding in Northern Virginia

    Left the store at 5:48 p.m. today, expecting my normal 22 -minute, 12 -mile commute. It was raining hard but I had no idea how bad the flooding was, though I had heard on the radio all day about flash flood warnings. My 22 minutes turned into a 98-minute white knuckle ride as my mighty 4 x 4 Tacoma forded five deep water areas on Pole Road, US HWY 1 at Belvoir, Beulah Rd, Telegraph Road and Hooes Road.

    Had I been in my car or motorcycle - no chance. Cars were piled up and stalled everywhere, some floating in the water with occupants inside, rushing water surrounding them. This on major highways! One elderly woman in a SAAB had water up to the doorhandles and her car stalled on US 1. I debated trying to rescue her, but the water was rushing by at a good clip and it was at the top of my tires on the Tacoma. I wouldn't have been able to get the door open and would have had to crawl out the window, and its a good bet that with the rushing water I'd not have maintained my footing, so I settled for calling 911 and was put into a holding que....first time that has ever happened as well. When they finally came on the line they said they already knew about her and in my rear view mirror I saw the big hook n' ladder truck trying to make its way through all the stopped cars, so I knew she would be alright.

    Many people panicked and just stopped driving in the middle of the road when they came up to rushing water. That made it very difficult for those of us in higher ground clearance trucks to get around them and ford the waters. Gotta tell ya, I've never driven in water that high and that fast before - but I knew the dangers of getting swept away. I watched most of the five flooded areas I crossed until I saw a similar vehicle like mine make it across, then I went. Two people dead already in the county from the flood waters and 50 minutes ago Fairfax County Police put out a call for people with boats to come to the Newington area of Cinder Bed Road as they needed to rescue several cars floating near the DOT facility with people in them, but they had no way to get to them. I don't own a boat to go help - but its close by ....

    Pretty freaky stuff. My Toyota Tacoma proved its worth tonight. So did a lot of higher/taller 4 x 4's. I might not be able to open the store tomorrow, its still raining and there is no way to get to my store that doesn't take me through a flooded area. Even I-95 is now closed from flooding...and that's a big highway, the lifeline of the East Coast.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Alexandria VA
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    Default Re: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

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    Here's my truck and my estimate of the water level in two of the five places I had to cross, right below the air cleaner intake. Not sure when trucks like this start to float, but mine was solid and pressed forward. I've always had F-150's (seven) or Silverados (two) before, but have to say this is the best pickup I've ever owned...the only thing about Tacomas is their resale value is so high, you almost have to buy new ones to get one that is not beat all to heck. I looked for a used one for 6 months, gave up totally frustrated and went to the dealer and bought new...no regrets!
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  3. #3
    bubbaonline Guest

    Default Re: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

    Remember when small trucks were really small?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Alexandria VA
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    Default Re: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

    FYI, the roads going into my store are all closed and flooded today, so I will not be in the store. I'll be home and available via email and forum questions today! Will re-open tomorrow (Saturday)
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  5. #5
    organic_smallhome Guest

    Default Re: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

    Wow. That's amazing. And your truck is still running??? Glad to hear you arrived home safely.

  6. #6
    erinate Guest

    Default Re: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

    Here is a BBC - Top Gear report on Duane's truck. Enjoy.

    (Tolerate the 30 second ads... it's worth it.)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnWKz...eature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc4K...eature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZDt...feature=relmfu

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Rio Rancho, NM
    Posts
    28

    Default Re: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

    Oh Duane, if you ever encounter water like that again PLEASE do not try to pass through it. I think you got enormously lucky, it's not worth the risk.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    Default Re: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

    I'm pretty careful! I have a lot of off-road experience in both 2 and 4 wheel vehicles and been through many a stream / river deep in the woods. My unknown was the Tacoma, I haven't had it that long and never put it in those kind of deep waters that we had here. I was pretty confident I was good up to the air cleaner intake, and stayed well below that threshold.

    There was actually a man that drowned at the same flooded area I was crossing over (on Telegraph Road near Davidson Airbase (Ft Belvoir)). He got out of his vehicle and tried to walk across and was swept away. They found his body the next day and his parked vehicle.

    Thanks for your thoughts!
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Alexandria VA
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    Default Re: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

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    My neighbors the next community over from ours had their road washed out from the flood. They called me and asked if I could help them make a path though the woods because they were stuck on their remote cul-de-sac and couldn't get out via the road. None of them had 4 x 4's though, so the path idea wasn't going to work, too rough for cars. Anyways, I drove over there today and took some photos of their road washout. Its a private road, so the (8) homeowers on the street have to stand the cost of repairs which I imagine will be considerable as they really need a bridge over this creek, not an earthen damn with a pair of metal drainage culverts to flow the water. It was far worse than I thought. They built a bridge for foot traffic and leave all their cars on one side of the culvert, then use the F-350 as a community shuttle vehicle. Look at the one photo of the ditch and you can see the power/fiber optic cables still intact.....
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  10. #10
    organic_smallhome Guest

    Default Re: Major flooding in Northern Virginia

    Wow.

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